ATP Tour

Grand Slam kids, big-time dreams: Blockx, Landaluce & co step up in Jeddah

If junior Grand Slam titles were entry tickets, the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF would have a very selective door policy.

Five of the six debutants in this year’s field arrive in Jeddah as former boys’ major champions, a contrast to the two returners, Americans Learner Tien and Nishesh Basavareddy, who are proving there’s more than one route to the top.

Different paths, same destination, and a lineup that underscores just how deep — and stacked — the next wave of men’s tennis is. For 6’4” Belgian Alexander Blockx, that journey began in Melbourne, where he won the 2023 Australian Open boys’ title.

“It gave me a lot of confidence on the court that showed me that I can really keep up with the guys and play in those big moments,” Blockx told ATPTour.com, reflecting on his title run in Melbourne. “It definitely helped me in my career, and now I feel like every year I am progressing little by little. I hope it keeps going that way.”

_{^{Alexander Blockx wins the 2023 Australian Open boys' title. Photo: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images.}}

Two players Blockx defeated en route to the title — last year's Jeddah finalists Joao Fonseca and Tien — have since risen inside the world’s Top 30 in 2025, reinforcing the sense that his own breakthrough is arriving fast.

The future, however, isn’t just knocking, it already has silverware. For Martin Landaluce, the pressure arrived early. The Spaniard won the 2022 US Open boys’ title at just 16, instantly putting a spotlight on his career before it had truly begun.

“It was a great moment. I think I'm glad to have lived this because I have had to manage pressure since I was 16 years old,” Landaluce said. “It was tough at that moment, but now I'm feeling much more confident, and it's not the first time I'm having people watching me and people saying that I'm going to be near the top…

“It's nice to have been preparing myself for this kind of pressure, and now I'm able to live it in a good way.”

_{^{Martin Landaluce takes a selfie with the Jeddah field on Media Day. Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.}}

Now 19, calmer and armed with the tools he’s developed at the Rafa Nadal Academy — including a heavy focus on breathing and mental work — Landaluce feels far better equipped for the attention that follows him. This week in Jeddah, he is sharing that attention with countryman and close friend Rafael Jodar, who etched his name into the same US Open trophy two years later in 2024.

Jodar has backed that title up with a rapid rise, surging more than 700 spots in the PIF ATP Rankings to World No. 168 in 2025 and winning three ATP Challenger Tour titles in the final three months of the season to secure his Next Gen spot. Yet he’s careful not to blur the lines between junior success and professional progress.

“I could say that it was probably one of the best weeks, but I couldn't say that it's why I've done these things this year,” Jodar said of his US Open run last year. “I think they are two worlds. When you play in juniors, you have to face the best juniors, but when you play on the Challenger Tour, you play against other players that are older than you and who have more experience.”

That jump has proven both a reality check and a learning curve, but one that Jodar has handled smoothly. The only player in Jeddah with more Challenger titles in 2025, however, is Nicolai Budkov Kjaer.

_{^{The 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF field. Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.}} 

The 19-year-old Norwegian won the 2024 Wimbledon boys’ singles title and then followed it with a career-best 2025 season, claiming a Tour-leading four Challenger trophies to earn his spot at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF for the first time.

“Winning a junior title is a big milestone as a player,” Budkov Kjaer said when asked about his run at the All England Club. “It’s a week I will remember forever, and it's nice to have it in the baggage of trophies.”

Still, he knows trophies alone don’t guarantee anything on Tour: “I think all the juniors play quite grown-up tennis right now. I think it's a higher level than ever, but you need to adjust your acceptance… To accept that everybody can play very good tennis and that you can beat and get beaten by everybody.”

Dino Prizmic rounded out his own junior career exactly how he wanted, winning the 2023 Roland Garros boys’ title before stepping full-time into the professional ranks.

“It was a big moment for me because I wanted to finish juniors with one title, especially a Grand Slam title, and I did it, so I'm very proud of that,” Prizmic said.

What followed was a fast introduction to the realities of the ATP Tour, including taking a set from Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Australian Open and battling some injuries along the way. In 2025, the Croatian surged again, claiming two ATP Challenger Tour titles and reaching his maiden tour-level quarter-final in Umag to secure his place in Jeddah.

Five junior Grand Slam champions, five distinct journeys, but none of them identical to the routes taken by Tien or Basavareddy. In Jeddah, the message is clear: Junior titles can open doors, but it’s what comes after that earns you a seat at the table.